Exercise apparatus

ABSTRACT

Exercise apparatus having upper and lower elongated members connected end to end by a pivot joint and arranged to be mounted at a wall. Various arrangements of the two members are possible by devices for releasable locking the two members at the wall. In one arrangement both members are secured in a vertical plane against the wall. In other arrangements, either the upper member is pivoted away from the wall and held in a plane parallel to the floor by support at one end by the lower member and at the other end by a fixed pedestal, or both members are pivoted away from the wall, at least the upper end of the upper member being supported by the pedestal at its upper end.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an exercise apparatus, comprising atwo-piece plane provided with a linkage for folding the pieces of theplane to an angle relative to each other. Such exercise apparatusfurther includes means for locking the plane in an upright position, forsupporting the plane as a horizontal plane and for supporting the planeas an inclined plane.

BACKGROUND ART

The above type of exercise apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No.4,759,539 in the name of the present inventor. In this prior solution,the lower section of an exercise apparatus is provided with a linkage,which is fixed relative to the exercise apparatus and elevated from thefloor and around which a two-piece plane is revolved in a vertical planefor bringing the exercise apparatus into a variety of functionalpositions. This prior solution set forth in the patent cited above isadvantageous provided that there are no restrictions set, for example,by room height. In low-ceilinged premises like basements, due to theinstallation of a fixed linkage above the floor, the length of atwo-piece plane cannot be made functionally sufficient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of this invention is to provide an exercise apparatus, whichis particularly suitable for low-ceilinged premises, for example,basement rooms, and whose exercise planes are sufficiently long eventhough room height may induce restrictions. In addition, an exerciseapparatus of the invention has certain extra features compared to theprior art, and is an advantageous exercise apparatus.

In order to achieve this object, an exercise apparatus of the inventionincludes a fixed linkage in the lower section of an exercise apparatuswhich is adapted for mounting on a fixed base, such as a floor. Thelinkage of the two-piece plane is provided with locking means and theupper section of the exercise apparatus carries an extending memberadapted to serve as a support pedestal.

This solution provides an exercise apparatus, the functional length ofwhose two-piece plane begins immediately at floor surface. By means ofthe linkage locking means of a two-piece plane the exercise apparatuscan be set in positions suitable for various workout exercises, such asin a horizontal plane and in an inclined plane, whereby the latter, dueto a possibility of locking the linkage, can even be set in at least twoangular positions. The extending member in the upper section of theexercise apparatus serves as a support pedestal in all lowered positionsof the exercise apparatus in a manner that the outermost portion of suchextending member supports itself against the floor.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference madeto an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings;

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus in an uprightposition,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exercise apparatus in a secondposition, the apparatus being fitted in a horizontal plane and to beused, for example, as a table top or for dorsal muscle workouts,

FIG. 3 is another perspective view of an exercise apparatus in its thirdposition, which is at the same time a first position for using theexercise apparatus as an inclined plane, and

FIG. 4 is also a perspective view of an exercise apparatus in a fourthposition, which is a second position for using the exercise apparatus asan inclined plane which, similarly to the position of FIG. 3, isintended for abdominal muscle workouts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

As shown in the drawings, the exercise apparatus of the presentinvention can be used to perform a great variety of workout exercises asthe exercise apparatus can be handily set in various positions. Forexample, when fastened to a wall S in an upright position shown in FIG.1, the exercise apparatus provides so-called ladder rungs P and theadditional feature for use this position is a horizontal bar R. From theposition shown in FIG. 1 the upper piece 2 of a two-piece plane 1, 2 canbe lowered onto a fixed horizontal base, such as a floor L, as shown inFIG. 2. Now, the upper piece of a two-piece plane provides a horizontalplane carried, on the one hand, by a linkage 3 of such two-piece planeand on the other hand by the floor L with the help of an extendingmember 5. Proceeding from the position of FIG. 1 to that of FIG. 2 iseffected by removing the locking means of two clamps 6 secured to wall Sfrom the upper plane section 2. Both clamps 6, mounted on either side ofthe upper plane section 2, include as a locking means a turnablemetallic locking tongue which in a locking position is connected to theupper plane section 2, engaged in a corresponding groove 6" in metalplates 6', the latter being fastened to the lateral faces of thestringers 10a, 10b of upper plane section 2.

The linkage 3 of two-piece plane 1, 2 is provided with locking means 7which must also be unlocked for setting an exercise apparatus in theposition shown in FIG. 2. The locking means 7 comprises locking pins 7',which are mounted on the extensions of the longitudinal stringers 9a, 9bof a lower, first plane section 1 and which are on cooperation withholes 8 made in the longitudinal stringers 10a, 10b of an upper, secondplane section 2. Stringers 9a, 9b are positioned so as lie on theoutside of stringers 10a, 10b of the upper plane section 2 whenever theplane sections 1, 2 are parallel to each other. Thus, locking pins 7'can be inserted in holes 8 by manipulating a locking means operatingbutton 7".

A fixed linkage 4 comprises two cross-sectionally U-shaped plates 4',between which are fitted the bottom parts of stringers 9a and 9b oflower plane section 1. Turning of the first plane section in the planeproceeds around horizontal pins 4" fitted between members 4' and 9a(respectively 4' and 9b). Plates 4' are fastened either to wall S and/orto floor L.

In the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower plane section isfurther secured to wall S by means of two clamps 11 which structurallycorrespond to clamps 6.

Each clamp 11 acts on a corresponding groove 11" in metal plates 11'mounted on the lateral faces of stringers 9a and 9b of lower planesection 1. When a respective locking tongue of the above-mentionedclamps 11 is unlocked, the position of FIG. 3 is reached from that ofFIG. 2, the lower plane section 1 turning to extend parallel to floor Laround linkage 4 supporting itself against the floor at stringers 9a, 9band the upper plane section 2 is set by means of extending member 5 inan inclined plane that can be used for abdominal muscle workouts. If thetwo-section or two-piece plane 1, 2 is clamped by locking means 7 in aparallel position, there will be provided a continuous inclined planeshown in FIG. 4, the linkage 3 of two-piece plane 1, 2 being elevatedfrom the floor where it was lying in a flat position, shown in FIG. 3.

The extending member 5 consists of two pairs of stringers 12a, 12bsecured to the longitudinal stringers 10a, 10b of upper plane section 2at the top thereof. Stringers 12a, 12b are set in an inclined positionso as to join each other at the free ends thereof. The pairs ofstringers are linked by a horizontal bar R. The distance of a fulcrum Tin the pairs of stringers from the surface of upper plane section 2corresponds to the distance between linkages 3 and 4.

The top plate 13 of upper plane section 2 is a two-piece element, thelower piece 13' being removable for alternative series of workouts. Theapparatus is naturally also provided with a necessary foot strap (notshown) for securing the feet of a user during workout movements.

I claim:
 1. Exercise apparatus for use mounted at a wall, said apparatuscomprising:upper and lower elongated members, each of said elongatedmembers comprising a pair of spaced-apart longitudinal stringers andmeans holding said stringers in a spaced-apart parallel arrangement,each of said members having upper and lower end portions; means affixedat the lower end of said lower member for pivotally securing said lowermember at the base of said wall; pivot means connecting the lower endportion of said upper member in an overlapping relationship with theupper end portion of said lower member for pivoting movement between aposition in which both elongated members are in the same plane, and aposition in which said elongated members are at an angle with respect toeach other; locking means for locking said elongated members in the sameplane in an upright position, and for securing said upper elongatedmember in a horizontal or an inclined position, said locking meanscomprising pins mounted at the upper ends of said stringers of saidlower elongated member and corresponding holes in the lower end portionof said upper elongated member for engaging said pins; and a supportpedestal fixedly mounted on the upper end of said upper elongated memberfor supporting said upper end of said upper elongated member. 2.Exercise apparatus for use mounted at a wall, said apparatuscomprising:upper and lower elongated members, each of said elongatedmembers comprising a pair of spaced-apart longitudinal stringers andmeans holding said stringers in a spaced-apart, parallel arrangement,each of said members having upper and lower end portions; means affixedat the lower end of said lower member for pivotally securing said lowermember at the base of said wall; pivot means connecting the lower endportion of said upper member in an overlapping relationship with theupper end portion of said lower member for pivoting movement between aposition in which both elongated members are in the same plane, and aposition in which said elongated members are at an angle with respect toeach other; locking means in the upper end portions of each of saidelongated members, said locking means cooperating with means mounted onsaid wall for locking both of said elongated members in an uprightposition, for supporting said upper elongated member in a horizontalplane by releasing the locking means of said upper elongated member, andfor supporting said upper elongated member as an inclined plane byreleasing said locking means of said upper and lower elongated members;and a support pedestal fixedly mounted on the upper end of said upperelongated member for supporting said upper end when said upper elongatedmember is in a horizontal or an inclined position.
 3. Exercise apparatusaccording to claim 2, wherein said means for holding said stringers in aparallel, spaced-apart relationship comprises a plurality of parallel,spaced-apart rung elements secured to and extending between saidstringers.
 4. Exercise apparatus according to claim 2, wherein saidlocking means includes pins mounted at the upper ends of said stringersof said lower elongated member and holes in the lower end portion ofsaid upper elongated member adapted to receive said pins for retainingsaid upper and lower elongated members in the same plane.
 5. Exerciseapparatus according to claim 4, wherein the stringers for said lowerelongated member are positioned on the outside of the stringers for saidupper elongated member.
 6. Exercise apparatus according to claim 2,wherein said means mounted on said wall includes clamps secured to saidwall adjacent the upper end portions of said upper and lower elongatedmembers for releasably securing said elongated members at said wall.